Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Time was when the word progressive was considered a death knell to an artist who believed they were anything but. To be mentioned in the same fair as the Blues would have been suggestible of heresy, you might as well have walked into the Tower of London, stolen the crown jewels, and then set up a pitch in Peckham market and give them away with a packet of washing up powder.
Progressive though, like the blues, since the turn of the century, has undertaken its own renaissance, and whilst there are many bands to whom the new age of Progressive can be attributed to, in the world of Blues, for many there is only one Godfather of the genre in the 21st Century, and in Joe Bonamassa do they trust.
Time Clocks is the maestro’s latest release, and whilst the sense of inevitability is palpable, is to the striking of a match to illuminate the darkness, it is perhaps one that makes the listener sit up and take notice more than at any time in the musician’s career.
Throughout his career, the American Bluesman has delivered more than his fair share of albums, either as a solo artist, part of a duo, or as a team, that have not only been superb, but sublime, consistently fabulous, as sure as march of Time itself, and yet, as the opening bars, as the sound of discretional and undertone of the introduction of pilgrimage and the expanse and sheer scale of notches comes into view, what the listener will come to understand is that Time Clocks is without doubt a masterpiece, Progressive is maybe an understatement, but a magnum opus doesn’t even come to describe the intensity of feeling that bursts out of the speakers.
Across tracks such as The Heart That Never Waits, Questions And Answers, The Loyal Kind, Hanging On A Loser and Known Unknowns all leave their indelible mark, as the adventurous evolution takes another unrelenting shift, the understanding of time as a permanent marker is smashed apart; for Time Clocks is arguably the moment where fluidity and the essence of the man is left in no doubt.
An outstanding, monumental piece of work, and with a band consisting of Steve Mackey, Lachy Doley, Bunna Lawrie, Bobby Summerfield, Anton Fig, as well Mahalia Barnes, Juanita Tippins and Prinnie Stevens on backing vocals, Time Clocks is breath-taking, it is enormous, it is the humility of a professional in his absolute pomp and observational prowess; and in the end what is absolutely clear, is that Joe Bonamassa is not afraid of stretching his Blues and Rock legend ever further, and with good reason.
Joe Bonamassa releases Time Clocks on October 29th via Provogue.
Ian D. Hall